Welcome to McClatchy’s Voter Survival Guide, an interactive presentation of daily events from one of the strangest presidential campaigns in modern history.
Early voting wraps up today in a few remaining states, but the early returns show nearly 42 million Americans have already cast a ballot for president.
The numbers are good news for Donald Trump in Iowa and Ohio, where traditionally Democratic-leaning areas near Cleveland are turning out less and traditionally conservative areas in Iowa are turning out at a higher rate.
But Hillary Clinton is positioned well in Nevada due to high Hispanic turnout and outgoing senate minority leader Harry Reid’s get-out-the-vote organization.
But Florida and North Carolina appear to be up for grabs, although two Democratic-leaning counties in South Florida saw record turnout on Sunday.
“The key is Florida and North Carolina,” said Mercer University elections expert and professor John Christopher Grant. “If she (Clinton) wins both, she has it in the bag. If she loses both I think she loses the election.”
Another FBI bombshell was announced less than two days before the election, although the latest announcement from FBI director James Comey is good news for Hillary Clinton.
“Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with regard to Secretary Clinton.” Comey said.
In July, the FBI recommended not to prosecute Clinton.
“We have seen Director Comey's latest letter to the Hill,” said Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri in a statement. “We are glad to see that he has found, as we were confident that he would, that he has confirmed the conclusion that he reached in July, and we're glad that this matter is resolved.”
But the email comes too late for the nearly 42 million Americans who already cast a ballot for president. A few states wrap up early voting on Monday but the key states of North Carolina and Florida finished over the weekend.
The numbers in both states give hope to Trump and Clinton. If Hispanics are uniformly for Clinton, their high turnout could offset gains among white voters and African-Americans that choose to stay home. But Trump is within striking distance in both states.
They may not be his base, but Trump does have his support among college-educated women.
Here’s a handy tool where you can find your polling place for Election Day. Keep in mind that lines could be longest at the beginning and end of the day when people are commuting.
The polls open nationally tomorrow. Let’s get started.
The FBI email bombshell that wasn’t
Ten days ago, the FBI announced it was looking into a cache of emails that could have been connected to Clinton’s private server through her aide Huma Abedin.
On Sunday, the FBI put speculation that Clinton could be in trouble over the new information to rest, stating “we have not changed our conclusions” from July when it recommended against charges for Clinton.